Food politics and diversity in the food industry
A lot of my current work involves me supporting small businesses in the hospitality industry, or working directly in kitchens as a chef, and a question that has come up several times is how can food businesses ensure that they have genuine, inclusive practices that promote diversity and anti-racism?
The UK hospitality industry is notoriously white. From local cafes to high-end restaurants, from cookbooks and food writers to influencer culture, there is a noticeable lack of Black and brown faces in the mainstream. The industry is harder for non-white people to break into and gain notoriety or textbook success in, which I wrote about in my recent piece on cultural appropriation in the food industry. Given that it is an industry that feeds so many of us, that inspires our choices for eating out or cooking at home, it is vital that there is diversity, inclusion and anti-racism. But how do businesses actively demonstrate that these are issues that they not only care about, but that they are taking action on? Many food businesses may struggle with, not because they don’t care but because they most likely set out to create and sell delicious food and did not begin with the intention to be political.
But that is where the issue lies: food IS political.
Food is a tool to connect us - the practice of ‘breaking bread together’ is a significant term as it represents coming together, no matter your differences. Most simply, we all need food to survive, but it goes beyond that. From a first date to a family celebration, food is what binds us. We share and learn through food - from ancestral recipes to traditional native dishes, there is a story behind many a meal. Our reliance on the food supply chain is another indicator of food being political - just look at how it has been affected during the current global pandemic. And even before that, what and how consumers choose to eat is political: it’s based on wealth, education and accessibility. Furthermore, an outcome of recent rise is awareness of systemic racism in our societies has made many consumers question their choices, which is undoubtedly political. Eat Drink Politics have a really straightforward piece on food politics (from an American POV but relevant globally) if you want to explore this further.
With the need for diversity in the food industry being acknowledged, what can businesses, consumers and the wider sector do to enable this? To begin, businesses need to look at themselves from the outside. How do consumers view their business and brand? Is it one that only white people would feel an affinity with or will it reach Black and Asian people or those from other minority communities? If it doesn’t do the latter, why not? It could be that all the staff are white, the food isn’t very diverse, it’s set in an inaccessible part of town. I appreciate that I’m writing this in London where there is multiculturalism around every corner, and not every part of the UK has that, but equally a high proportion of visible and mainstream brands, businesses and bloggers are based here so they can and should do better. I’m sure I’m not the only person of colour who feels uncomfortable when they’re the only non-white face in a cafe or restaurant - and I’m speaking as both a consumer and an employee.
If you’re a business with a predominantly white team, assess the roles that people of colour are in. If they’re in the lowest paid, least skilled roles, that is not diversity. I’ve worked in white-owned places cooking international cuisine where the only people of colour are the kitchen porters. Not cool. If there are no people of colour - and more importantly, Black people - in managerial or leadership roles, that’s where the work needs done. Of course, if you are a small or young business that relies on friends and family to work for you this will be different, but the issue of appealing more broadly is no different. And if you have plans for growth, which most businesses do then it’s always worth envisioning what your future business looks like. For slightly larger businesses - especially brands that start to go multi-site - you need to proactively diversify your staffing. To do this consider the platforms that you recruit on - how diverse is the audience? Do non-white people even see your ad? Once people are employed, what are the progression routes and how would that be relevant to everyone? What is the culture within the organisation - do you have a culture fit or a culture add attitude? Clue: the latter in better.
The food is obviously a huge factor in who engages with a food business. The kale, clean eating crew is going to be typically white (question why that is…) but I’m not saying that to gain diversity in customers, businesses must have a ‘world’ or ‘fusion’ menu. In fact, I’d suggest the opposite! Menus should be designed carefully and considerately and with an awareness of cultural appropriation - check my previous post to get your head around that if needed. If you are bringing in global dishes collaborate and consult with people from that country or diaspora.
White business owners that have a platform - be that through social media or speaking at an event or writing a column - should be using it to stand up against racism. This can include giving up your space on a panel or only sitting on those that are genuinely diverse. It could mean mutually beneficial collaborations i.e. not a white male run brand collab-ing with another white male run brand, creating a culturally appropriated dish... Like, really? In this day and age it astounds me that this is still happening. But then I remember that we live in society where many people live within their own white tunnel vision.
Most of the above is focussed on food service, but diversity is also required across food writing and publishing. Black Book has done some excellent panel talks on this recently and will hopefully be shaking up the industry very soon. Definitely worth checking out if you’re a person of colour anywhere in the food industry. Publishing houses need to diversify their clients (and their teams - as do PR agencies), media outlets need more writers of colour - we do exist but our voices just aren’t getting heard! - and consumers need to genuinely engage with more non-white food influencers.
If you are in food PR or events, then you have a duty to ensure that there is genuine diversity - that which goes beyond the box-ticking of one non-white face on a panel or a few faces in a crowd. All of the above is also relevant to you, ensuring that your client has a brand that does connect across the board whilst navigating a space that might not be inclusive for everyone. You might need to take a risk and do something like not putting your client up for a speaking opportunity if it’s an all-white panel.
If you are doing work on anti-racism, don’t keep it quiet. Sharing what you do doesn’t have to be virtue signalling. It can help to lead by example and it can enable consumers, partners and potential employees to make informed decisions before engaging with your business. Food businesses like jackfruit pros Biff’s have an inclusion statement on their page and influencer @theveganfoodfiend has published an inclusion and diversity pledge stating how she will use her platform for positive change whilst sharing dreamy food pics. If you take this form of action be ready to be held accountable by anyone to ask for progress made on areas you outline - that’s one of the reasons why it’s so important to keep the conversation going. Creating an anti-racist world isn’t easy and it isn’t seasonal either. It’s something that needs to be worked on every single day in every aspect of each and every one of our lives. But just think if we all do that, then every single day the world becomes a better, safer and more equitable place.